158-400: A nuclear electromagnetic pulse ( nuclear EMP or NEMP ) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation created by a nuclear explosion . The resulting rapidly varying electric and magnetic fields may couple with electrical and electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges . The specific characteristics of a particular nuclear EMP event vary according to a number of factors,
316-542: A current density of tens of amperes per square metre. Because of the downward tilt of the Earth's magnetic field at high latitudes , the area of peak field strength is a U-shaped region to the equatorial side of the detonation. As shown in the diagram, for nuclear detonations in the Northern Hemisphere , this U-shaped region is south of the detonation point. Near the equator , where the Earth's magnetic field
474-566: A geomagnetic storm . Like a geomagnetic storm, E3 can produce geomagnetically induced currents in long electrical conductors, damaging components such as power line transformers . Because of the similarity between solar-induced geomagnetic storms and nuclear E3, it has become common to refer to solar-induced geomagnetic storms as "Solar EMP". "Solar EMP" does not include E1 or E2 components. Factors that control weapon effectiveness include altitude, yield , construction details, target distance, intervening geographical features, and local strength of
632-422: A microwave oven . These interactions produce either electric currents or heat, or both. Like radio and microwave, infrared (IR) also is reflected by metals (and also most EMR, well into the ultraviolet range). However, unlike lower-frequency radio and microwave radiation, Infrared EMR commonly interacts with dipoles present in single molecules, which change as atoms vibrate at the ends of a single chemical bond. It
790-461: A transverse wave , where the electric field E and the magnetic field B are both perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. The electric and magnetic parts of the field in an electromagnetic wave stand in a fixed ratio of strengths to satisfy the two Maxwell equations that specify how one is produced from the other. In dissipation-less (lossless) media, these E and B fields are also in phase, with both reaching maxima and minima at
948-549: A 1.44 Mt (6.0 PJ ) bomb 400 kilometres (250 mi; 1,300,000 ft) above the mid-Pacific Ocean. This demonstrated that the effects of a high-altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than had been previously calculated. Starfish Prime made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii , about 1,445 kilometres (898 mi) away from the detonation point, disabling approximately 300 streetlights, triggering numerous burglar alarms and damaging
1106-581: A bulk collection of charges which are spread out over large numbers of affected atoms. In electrical conductors , such induced bulk movement of charges ( electric currents ) results in absorption of the EMR, or else separations of charges that cause generation of new EMR (effective reflection of the EMR). An example is absorption or emission of radio waves by antennas, or absorption of microwaves by water or other molecules with an electric dipole moment, as for example inside
1264-411: A certain minimum frequency, which depended on the particular metal, no current would flow regardless of the intensity. These observations appeared to contradict the wave theory, and for years physicists tried in vain to find an explanation. In 1905, Einstein explained this puzzle by resurrecting the particle theory of light to explain the observed effect. Because of the preponderance of evidence in favor of
1422-605: A component wave is said to be monochromatic . A monochromatic electromagnetic wave can be characterized by its frequency or wavelength, its peak amplitude, its phase relative to some reference phase, its direction of propagation, and its polarization. Interference is the superposition of two or more waves resulting in a new wave pattern. If the fields have components in the same direction, they constructively interfere, while opposite directions cause destructive interference. Additionally, multiple polarization signals can be combined (i.e. interfered) to form new states of polarization, which
1580-487: A fission explosion is 3.5% of the yield, but in a 10 kt (42 TJ) detonation the triggering explosive around the bomb core absorbs about 85% of the prompt gamma rays, so the output is only about 0.5% of the yield. In the thermonuclear Starfish Prime the fission yield was less than 100% and the thicker outer casing absorbed about 95% of the prompt gamma rays from the pusher around the fusion stage. Thermonuclear weapons are also less efficient at producing EMP because
1738-499: A fluorescence on a nearby plate of coated glass. In one month, he discovered X-rays' main properties. The last portion of the EM spectrum to be discovered was associated with radioactivity . Henri Becquerel found that uranium salts caused fogging of an unexposed photographic plate through a covering paper in a manner similar to X-rays, and Marie Curie discovered that only certain elements gave off these rays of energy, soon discovering
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#17327804249931896-499: A green and blue circular region surrounded by a blood-red ring formed overhead that faded in less than one minute. Blue-green streamers and numerous pink striations formed, the latter lasting for 30 minutes. Observers at Samoa saw a white flash, which faded to orange and disappeared in about one minute." The fourth attempt at the Bluegill test was launched on a Thor missile on October 25, 1962 (Johnston Island time). It resulted in
2054-576: A higher energy (and hence shorter wavelength) than gamma rays and vice versa. The origin of the ray differentiates them, gamma rays tend to be natural phenomena originating from the unstable nucleus of an atom and X-rays are electrically generated (and hence man-made) unless they are as a result of bremsstrahlung X-radiation caused by the interaction of fast moving particles (such as beta particles) colliding with certain materials, usually of higher atomic numbers. EM radiation (the designation 'radiation' excludes static electric and magnetic and near fields )
2212-527: A large number of surface and aircraft-based stations in the wide area around the planned detonations and also in the region in the southern hemisphere in the Samoan Islands region, which was known in these tests as the southern conjugate region . Johnston Island is in the northern hemisphere, as were all of the planned Operation Fishbowl nuclear detonation locations. It was known from previous high altitude tests, as well as from theoretical work done in
2370-418: A large, radial pulse of electric current propagating outward from the burst location confined to the source region (the region over which the gamma photons are attenuated). The Earth's magnetic field exerts a force on the electron flow at a right angle to both the field and the particles' original vector, which deflects the electrons and leads to synchrotron radiation . Because the outward traveling gamma pulse
2528-528: A linear medium such as a vacuum. However, in nonlinear media, such as some crystals , interactions can occur between light and static electric and magnetic fields—these interactions include the Faraday effect and the Kerr effect . In refraction , a wave crossing from one medium to another of different density alters its speed and direction upon entering the new medium. The ratio of the refractive indices of
2686-601: A long underground power line that caused a fire in the power plant in the city of Karaganda . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the level of this damage was communicated informally to US scientists. For a few years US and Russian scientists collaborated on the HEMP phenomenon. Funding was secured to enable Russian scientists to report on some of the Soviet EMP results in international scientific journals. As
2844-539: A lower energy level, it emits a photon of light at a frequency corresponding to the energy difference. Since the energy levels of electrons in atoms are discrete, each element and each molecule emits and absorbs its own characteristic frequencies. Immediate photon emission is called fluorescence , a type of photoluminescence . An example is visible light emitted from fluorescent paints, in response to ultraviolet ( blacklight ). Many other fluorescent emissions are known in spectral bands other than visible light. Delayed emission
3002-500: A microwave link. Starfish Prime was the first success in the series of United States high-altitude nuclear tests in 1962 known as Operation Fishbowl . Subsequent tests gathered more data on the high-altitude EMP phenomenon. The Bluegill Triple Prime and Kingfish high-altitude nuclear tests of October and November 1962 in Operation Fishbowl provided data that was clear enough to enable physicists to accurately identify
3160-408: A normal trajectory for 59 seconds; then the rocket engine suddenly stopped, and the missile began to break apart. The range safety officer ordered the destruction of the missile and the warhead. The missile was between 30,000 and 35,000 feet (between 9.1 and 10.7 km) in altitude when it was destroyed. Some of the missile parts fell on Johnston Island, and a large amount of missile debris fell into
3318-417: A particular star. Spectroscopy is also used in the determination of the distance of a star, using the red shift . When any wire (or other conducting object such as an antenna ) conducts alternating current , electromagnetic radiation is propagated at the same frequency as the current. As a wave, light is characterized by a velocity (the speed of light ), wavelength , and frequency . As particles, light
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#17327804249933476-581: A result, formal documentation of some of the EMP damage in Kazakhstan exists, although it is still sparse in the open-scientific literature. For one of the K Project tests, Soviet scientists instrumented a 570-kilometer (350 mi) section of telephone line in the area that they expected to be affected by the pulse. The monitored telephone line was divided into sub-lines of 40 to 80 kilometres (25 to 50 mi) in length, separated by repeaters . Each sub-line
3634-495: A spiral along the magnetic field lines in the Earth's magnetic field. The nuclear explosions also release heavier debris ions , which also carry an electrical charge, and which also travel in a spiral along the Earth's magnetic field lines. The Earth's magnetic field lines arc high above the Earth until they reach the magnetic conjugate area in the opposite hemisphere. According to the DOD nuclear weapon effects reference, "Because
3792-423: A successful detonation of a submegaton nuclear warhead at about one minute before midnight, local time (the official Coordinated Universal Time was 0959 on October 26, 1962). It was officially reported as being in the submegaton range (meaning more than 200 kilotons but less than one megaton), and most observers of the U.S. nuclear testing programs believe that the nuclear yield was about 400 kilotons. One report by
3950-425: A surface burst, absorption of gamma rays by air would limit the range of gamma-ray deposition to approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi), while for a burst in the lower-density air at high altitudes, the range of deposition would be far greater. Typical nuclear weapon yields used during Cold War planning for EMP attacks were in the range of 1 to 10 Mt (4.2 to 41.8 PJ ). This is roughly 50 to 500 times
4108-445: A third type of radiation, which in 1903 Rutherford named gamma rays . In 1910 British physicist William Henry Bragg demonstrated that gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation, not particles, and in 1914 Rutherford and Edward Andrade measured their wavelengths, finding that they were similar to X-rays but with shorter wavelengths and higher frequency, although a 'cross-over' between X and gamma rays makes it possible to have X-rays with
4266-420: A typical case of E1 pulse produced by a second-generation nuclear weapon such as those of Operation Fishbowl . The typical gamma rays given off by the weapon have an energy of about 2 MeV ( mega electron-volts). The gamma rays transfer about half of their energy to the ejected free electrons, giving an energy of about 1 MeV. In a vacuum and absent a magnetic field, the electrons would travel with
4424-431: A very large (ideally infinite) distance from the source. Both types of waves can have a waveform which is an arbitrary time function (so long as it is sufficiently differentiable to conform to the wave equation). As with any time function, this can be decomposed by means of Fourier analysis into its frequency spectrum , or individual sinusoidal components, each of which contains a single frequency, amplitude and phase. Such
4582-467: A wave is its rate of oscillation and is measured in hertz , the SI unit of frequency, where one hertz is equal to one oscillation per second. Light usually has multiple frequencies that sum to form the resultant wave. Different frequencies undergo different angles of refraction, a phenomenon known as dispersion . A monochromatic wave (a wave of a single frequency) consists of successive troughs and crests, and
4740-399: A yellow-white, luminous circle with intense purple streamers for the first minute. Some of the streamers displayed what appeared to be a rapid twisting motion at times. A large pale-green patch appeared somewhat south of the burst and grew, becoming the dominant visible feature after 5 minutes. By H+1 the green had become dull gray, but the feature persisted for 3 hours. At Oahu a bright flash
4898-428: Is a brief but intense electromagnetic field that induces high voltages in electrical conductors. E1 causes most of its damage by causing electrical breakdown voltages to be exceeded. E1 can destroy computers and communications equipment and it changes too quickly (nanoseconds) for ordinary surge protectors to provide effective protection from it. Fast-acting surge protectors (such as those using TVS diodes ) will block
Nuclear electromagnetic pulse - Misplaced Pages Continue
5056-472: Is a more subtle affair. Some experiments display both the wave and particle natures of electromagnetic waves, such as the self-interference of a single photon . When a single photon is sent through an interferometer , it passes through both paths, interfering with itself, as waves do, yet is detected by a photomultiplier or other sensitive detector only once. A quantum theory of the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter such as electrons
5214-438: Is a much lower intensity "intermediate time" EMP, which is further divided into E2A (scattered gamma EMP) and E2B (neutron gamma EMP). E3 is a very long-duration "late time" pulse, which is extremely slow in rise and fall times compared to the other components of EMP. E3 is further divided into E3A (blast wave) and E3B (heave). E3 is also called magnetohydrodynamic EMP. The E1 pulse is a very fast component of nuclear EMP. E1
5372-456: Is a stream of photons . Each has an energy related to the frequency of the wave given by Planck's relation E = hf , where E is the energy of the photon, h is the Planck constant , 6.626 × 10 J·s, and f is the frequency of the wave. In a medium (other than vacuum), velocity factor or refractive index are considered, depending on frequency and application. Both of these are ratios of
5530-523: Is associated with those EM waves that are free to propagate themselves ("radiate") without the continuing influence of the moving charges that produced them, because they have achieved sufficient distance from those charges. Thus, EMR is sometimes referred to as the far field , while the near field refers to EM fields near the charges and current that directly produced them, specifically electromagnetic induction and electrostatic induction phenomena. In quantum mechanics , an alternate way of viewing EMR
5688-422: Is called phosphorescence . The modern theory that explains the nature of light includes the notion of wave–particle duality. Together, wave and particle effects fully explain the emission and absorption spectra of EM radiation. The matter-composition of the medium through which the light travels determines the nature of the absorption and emission spectrum. These bands correspond to the allowed energy levels in
5846-563: Is classified by wavelength into radio , microwave , infrared , visible , ultraviolet , X-rays and gamma rays . Arbitrary electromagnetic waves can be expressed by Fourier analysis in terms of sinusoidal waves ( monochromatic radiation ), which in turn can each be classified into these regions of the EMR spectrum. For certain classes of EM waves, the waveform is most usefully treated as random , and then spectral analysis must be done by slightly different mathematical techniques appropriate to random or stochastic processes . In such cases,
6004-651: Is consequently absorbed by a wide range of substances, causing them to increase in temperature as the vibrations dissipate as heat. The same process, run in reverse, causes bulk substances to radiate in the infrared spontaneously (see thermal radiation section below). Infrared radiation is divided into spectral subregions. While different subdivision schemes exist, the spectrum is commonly divided as near-infrared (0.75–1.4 μm), short-wavelength infrared (1.4–3 μm), mid-wavelength infrared (3–8 μm), long-wavelength infrared (8–15 μm) and far infrared (15–1000 μm). Natural sources produce EM radiation across
6162-729: Is described by the theory of quantum electrodynamics . Electromagnetic waves can be polarized , reflected, refracted, or diffracted , and can interfere with each other. In homogeneous, isotropic media, electromagnetic radiation is a transverse wave , meaning that its oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer and travel. It comes from the following equations : ∇ ⋅ E = 0 ∇ ⋅ B = 0 {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\nabla \cdot \mathbf {E} &=0\\\nabla \cdot \mathbf {B} &=0\end{aligned}}} These equations predicate that any electromagnetic wave must be
6320-453: Is known as parallel polarization state generation . The energy in electromagnetic waves is sometimes called radiant energy . An anomaly arose in the late 19th century involving a contradiction between the wave theory of light and measurements of the electromagnetic spectra that were being emitted by thermal radiators known as black bodies . Physicists struggled with this problem unsuccessfully for many years, and it later became known as
6478-425: Is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page ). Maxwell's equations were confirmed by Heinrich Hertz through experiments with radio waves. Maxwell's equations established that some charges and currents ( sources ) produce local electromagnetic fields near them that do not radiate. Currents directly produce magnetic fields, but such fields of a magnetic-dipole –type that dies out with distance from
Nuclear electromagnetic pulse - Misplaced Pages Continue
6636-403: Is more closely proportional to the total energy yield of the weapon. In nuclear EMP all of the components of the electromagnetic pulse are generated outside of the weapon. For high-altitude nuclear explosions , much of the EMP is generated far from the detonation (where the gamma radiation from the explosion hits the upper atmosphere). This electric field from the EMP is remarkably uniform over
6794-483: Is more nearly horizontal, the E1 field strength is more nearly symmetrical around the burst location. At geomagnetic field strengths typical of the mid-latitudes, these initial electrons spiral around the magnetic field lines with a typical radius of about 85 metres (280 ft). These initial electrons are stopped by collisions with air molecules at an average distance of about 170 metres (560 ft). This means that most of
6952-547: Is propagating at the speed of light, the synchrotron radiation of the Compton electrons adds coherently , leading to a radiated electromagnetic signal. This interaction produces a large, brief, pulse. Several physicists worked on the problem of identifying the mechanism of the HEMP E1 pulse. The mechanism was finally identified by Conrad Longmire of Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1963. Longmire gives numerical values for
7110-475: Is that it consists of photons , uncharged elementary particles with zero rest mass which are the quanta of the electromagnetic field , responsible for all electromagnetic interactions. Quantum electrodynamics is the theory of how EMR interacts with matter on an atomic level. Quantum effects provide additional sources of EMR, such as the transition of electrons to lower energy levels in an atom and black-body radiation . Cite error: A <ref> tag
7268-486: Is the emission spectrum of nebulae . Rapidly moving electrons are most sharply accelerated when they encounter a region of force, so they are responsible for producing much of the highest frequency electromagnetic radiation observed in nature. These phenomena can aid various chemical determinations for the composition of gases lit from behind (absorption spectra) and for glowing gases (emission spectra). Spectroscopy (for example) determines what chemical elements comprise
7426-439: The far field is composed of radiation that is free of the transmitter, in the sense that the transmitter requires the same power to send changes in the field out regardless of whether anything absorbs the signal, e.g. a radio station does not need to increase its power when more receivers use the signal. This far part of the electromagnetic field is electromagnetic radiation. The far fields propagate (radiate) without allowing
7584-562: The Bluegill Triple Prime and Kingfish data. (The report actually using the Bluegill Triple Prime and Kingfish data to confirm the new EMP theory is the still-classified Part 2 of the unclassified report by Conrad Longmire.) According to a Sandia National Laboratories report, EMP generated during the Operation Fishbowl tests caused "input circuit troubles in radio receivers during the Starfish and Checkmat e bursts;
7742-464: The Bluegill Triple Prime test. Neither individual had his protective goggles in place at the instant of the detonation. One official report stated, "In the first case, acuity for central vision was 20/400 initially, but returned to 20/25 by six months. The second victim was less fortunate, as central vision did not improve beyond 20/60. The lesion diameters were 0.35 and 0.50 mm respectively. Both individuals noted immediate visual disturbances, but neither
7900-498: The Bluegill, Kingfish and Checkmate tests, "the thermal-pulse durations are of the same order of magnitude or shorter than the natural blink period which, for the average person, is about 150 milliseconds. Furthermore, the atmospheric attenuation is normally much less for a given distance than in the case of sea-level or near-sea-level explosions. Consequently, the eye-damage hazard is more severe." Two cases of retinal damage did occur with military personnel on Johnston Island during
8058-648: The Planck energy or exceeding it (far too high to have ever been observed) will require new physical theories to describe. When radio waves impinge upon a conductor , they couple to the conductor, travel along it and induce an electric current on the conductor surface by moving the electrons of the conducting material in correlated bunches of charge. Electromagnetic radiation phenomena with wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter are called microwaves; with frequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHz. At radio and microwave frequencies, EMR interacts with matter largely as
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#17327804249938216-473: The Planck–Einstein equation . In quantum theory (see first quantization ) the energy of the photons is thus directly proportional to the frequency of the EMR wave. Likewise, the momentum p of a photon is also proportional to its frequency and inversely proportional to its wavelength: The source of Einstein's proposal that light was composed of particles (or could act as particles in some circumstances)
8374-555: The Soviet Union was stationed near Johnston Island for the test and another Soviet scientific expeditionary ship was located in the southern conjugate region, permanent features of all future oceanic nuclear testing. After the Starfish Prime detonation, bright auroras were observed in the detonation area as well as in the southern conjugate region on the other side of the equator from the detonation. According to one of
8532-482: The Starfish Prime nuclear test, most damage was to the satellites' solar panels while passing through radiation belts created by the explosion. For detonations within the atmosphere, the situation is more complex. Within the range of gamma ray deposition, simple laws no longer hold as the air is ionized and there are other EMP effects, such as a radial electric field due to the separation of Compton electrons from air molecules, together with other complex phenomena. For
8690-711: The Starfish Prime radiation, with its complete failure occurring on February 21, 1963. In 2010, the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency issued a report that had been written in support of the United States Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack. The report, entitled "Collateral Damage to Satellites from an EMP Attack," discusses in great detail
8848-407: The Starfish Prime test. Prompt gamma ray output measurements on these later tests were also carefully obtained so that a new theory of the mechanism for high-altitude EMP could be developed and confirmed. That new theory about the generation of nuclear EMP was developed by Los Alamos physicist Conrad Longmire in 1963, and it is the high-altitude nuclear EMP theory that is still used today. As of
9006-426: The beta particles have high velocities, the beta auroras in the remote (southern) hemisphere appeared within a fraction of a second of those in the hemisphere where the burst had occurred. The debris ions, however, travel more slowly and so the debris aurora in the remote hemisphere, if it is formed, appears at a somewhat later time. The beta auroras are generally most intense at an altitude of 30 to 60 miles, whereas
9164-523: The electromagnetic (EM) field , which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy . Classically , electromagnetic radiation consists of electromagnetic waves , which are synchronized oscillations of electric and magnetic fields . In a vacuum , electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light , commonly denoted c . There, depending on the frequency of oscillation, different wavelengths of electromagnetic spectrum are produced. In homogeneous, isotropic media,
9322-473: The magnetic field lines, where they can persist for long periods of time (up to several months or longer), forming artificial radiation belts . According to the Operation Fishbowl planning document of November 1961, "Since much valuable data can be obtained from time and spectrum resolved photography, this dictates that the test be performed at nighttime when auroral photographic conditions are best." As with all U.S. Pacific high-altitude nuclear tests, all of
9480-418: The ultraviolet catastrophe . In 1900, Max Planck developed a new theory of black-body radiation that explained the observed spectrum. Planck's theory was based on the idea that black bodies emit light (and other electromagnetic radiation) only as discrete bundles or packets of energy. These packets were called quanta . In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed that light quanta be regarded as real particles. Later
9638-432: The 50,000 volts per metre limit by unspecified mechanisms. The reality and possible construction details of these weapons are classified and are, therefore, unconfirmed in the open scientific literature The E2 component is generated by scattered gamma rays and inelastic gammas produced by neutrons . This E2 component is an "intermediate time" pulse that, by IEC definition, lasts from about one microsecond to one second after
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#17327804249939796-478: The E1 pulse. E1 is produced when gamma radiation from the nuclear detonation ionizes (strips electrons from) atoms in the upper atmosphere. This is known as the Compton effect and the resulting current is called the "Compton current". The electrons travel in a generally downward direction at relativistic speeds (more than 90 percent of the speed of light). In the absence of a magnetic field, this would produce
9954-503: The EMP would have been much larger (22 to 30 kV/m) because of the greater strength of the Earth's magnetic field over the United States, as well as its different orientation at high latitudes. These calculations, combined with the accelerating reliance on EMP-sensitive microelectronics, heightened awareness that EMP could be a significant problem. In 1962, the Soviet Union performed three EMP-producing nuclear tests in space over Kazakhstan,
10112-692: The Earth's magnetic field. According to an internet primer published by the Federation of American Scientists : Thus, for equipment to be affected, the weapon needs to be above the visual horizon . The altitude indicated above is greater than that of the International Space Station and many low Earth orbit satellites. Large weapons could have a dramatic impact on satellite operations and communications such as occurred during Operation Fishbowl. The damaging effects on orbiting satellites are usually due to factors other than EMP. In
10270-484: The IEC, are called "E1", "E2", and "E3". The three categories of high-altitude EMP are divided according to the time duration and occurrence of each pulse. E1 is the fastest or "early time" high-altitude EMP. Traditionally, the term "EMP" often refers specifically to this E1 component of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse. The E2 and E3 pulses are often further subdivided into additional divisions according to causation. E2
10428-560: The Johnston Island area and across the nearby North Pacific region, including the primary instrumentation ship USAS American Mariner providing measurements conducted by personnel provided by RCA Service Company and Barnes Engineering Company. A few military ships and aircraft were also positioned in the southern conjugate region for the test, which was near the Samoan Islands. In addition, an uninvited observation ship from
10586-462: The Operation Fishbowl plan was made during an 82-day operations pause after the Bluegill Prime disaster of July 25, 1962, as described below. A test named Kingfish was added during the early stages of Operation Fishbowl planning. Two low-yield tests, Checkmate and Tightrope , were also added during the project, so the final number of tests in Operation Fishbowl was five. Tightrope was
10744-505: The Operation Fishbowl tests were completed at night. This is in contrast to the high-altitude nuclear tests of the Soviet Project K nuclear tests , which were done over the populated land region of central Kazakhstan , and therefore had to be done during the daytime to avoid eyeburn damage to the population from the very bright flash of high-altitude nuclear explosions (as discussed in the introduction to this article). According to
10902-657: The Pacific Ocean north of the equator. Johnston Island had already been established as a launch site for United States high-altitude nuclear tests, rather than the other locations in the Pacific Proving Grounds . In 1958, Lewis Strauss , then chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission , opposed doing any high-altitude tests at locations that had been used for earlier Pacific nuclear tests. His opposition
11060-598: The Starfish Prime EMP in Hawaii (about 5.6 kilovolts/metre) and the relatively small amount of damage (for example, only 1% to 3% of streetlights extinguished) led some scientists to believe, in the early days of EMP research, that the problem might not be significant. Later calculations showed that if the Starfish Prime warhead had been detonated over the northern continental United States, the magnitude of
11218-466: The Thor missile. Starfish Prime caused an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which was far larger than expected, so much larger that it drove much of the instrumentation off scale, causing great difficulty in getting accurate measurements. The Starfish Prime electromagnetic pulse also made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, about 1,445 kilometres (900 mi) away from
11376-422: The U.S. federal government reported the test yield as 200 kilotons. Since all of the Operation Fishbowl tests were planned to occur during the night, the potential for eyeburn, especially for permanent retinal damage, was an important consideration at all levels of planning. Much research went into the potential eyeburn problem. One of the official reports for the project stated that, for the altitudes planned for
11534-531: The United Kingdom satellite Ariel . It also damaged the Soviet satellite Cosmos V . All of these satellites failed completely within several months of the Starfish detonation. There is also evidence that the Starfish Prime radiation belt may have damaged the satellites Explorer 14, Explorer 15 and Relay 1 . Telstar I lasted the longest of the satellites that were clearly damaged by
11692-414: The ability to impair or destroy many protective and control features. The energy associated with the second component thus may be allowed to pass into and damage systems." The E3 component is different from E1 and E2. E3 is a much slower pulse, lasting tens to hundreds of seconds. It is caused by the nuclear detonation's temporary distortion of the Earth's magnetic field. The E3 component has similarities to
11850-471: The altitude of the detonation, energy yield , gamma ray output, interactions with the Earth's magnetic field and electromagnetic shielding of targets. The fact that an electromagnetic pulse is produced by a nuclear explosion was known in the earliest days of nuclear weapons testing. The magnitude of the EMP and the significance of its effects were not immediately realized. During the first United States nuclear test on 16 July 1945, electronic equipment
12008-473: The area by alpha-emitting core materials. Burning rocket fuel, flowing through the cable trenches, caused extensive chemical contamination of the trenches and the equipment associated with the cabling in the trenches. The radioactive contamination on Johnston Island was determined to be a major problem, and it was necessary to decontaminate the entire area before the badly damaged launch pad could be rebuilt. Operation Fishbowl test operations stopped after
12166-594: The atmosphere in the northern hemisphere between Johnston Island and the main Hawaiian Islands , whereas the conjugate region was in the vicinity of the Samoan , Fiji , and Tonga Islands. It is in these areas that auroras were actually observed, in addition to those in the areas of the nuclear explosions." Beta particles are charged particles (usually with a negative electrical charge ) that are released from nuclear explosions. These particles travel in
12324-432: The atoms in the star's atmosphere. A similar phenomenon occurs for emission , which is seen when an emitting gas glows due to excitation of the atoms from any mechanism, including heat. As electrons descend to lower energy levels, a spectrum is emitted that represents the jumps between the energy levels of the electrons, but lines are seen because again emission happens only at particular energies after excitation. An example
12482-413: The atoms. Dark bands in the absorption spectrum are due to the atoms in an intervening medium between source and observer. The atoms absorb certain frequencies of the light between emitter and detector/eye, then emit them in all directions. A dark band appears to the detector, due to the radiation scattered out of the light beam . For instance, dark bands in the light emitted by a distant star are due to
12640-403: The average number of photons in the cube of the relevant wavelength is much smaller than 1. It is not so difficult to experimentally observe non-uniform deposition of energy when light is absorbed, however this alone is not evidence of "particulate" behavior. Rather, it reflects the quantum nature of matter . Demonstrating that the light itself is quantized, not merely its interaction with matter,
12798-427: The beginning of 2011, the EMP waveforms and prompt gamma radiation outputs for Bluegill Triple Prime and Kingfish remain classified. An unclassified report confirms that these measurements were successfully made and that a subsequent theory (which is the one now used) was developed which describes the mechanism by which the high-altitude EMP is generated. That new theory does give results which are consistent with both
12956-399: The bond structure of some individual molecules. It is not a coincidence that this happens in the visible range, as the mechanism of vision involves the change in bonding of a single molecule, retinal , which absorbs a single photon. The change in retinal causes a change in the shape of the rhodopsin protein it is contained in, which starts the biochemical process that causes the retina of
13114-402: The current. In a similar manner, moving charges pushed apart in a conductor by a changing electrical potential (such as in an antenna) produce an electric-dipole –type electrical field, but this also declines with distance. These fields make up the near field. Neither of these behaviours is responsible for EM radiation. Instead, they only efficiently transfer energy to a receiver very close to
13272-413: The destruct command, which split the rocket and ruptured both fuel tanks, completely destroying the missile and badly damaging the launch pad. The warhead charges also exploded asymmetrically and sprayed the area with the moderately radioactive core materials. Although there was little danger of an accidental nuclear explosion, the destruction of the nuclear warhead on the launch pad caused contamination of
13430-456: The detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link (the detonation time was nine seconds after 11 p.m. in Hawaii). A total of 27 sounding rockets were launched from Johnston Island to obtain experimental data from the shot, with the first of the support rockets being launched 2 hours and 45 minutes before
13588-471: The devices that would normally protect against E2. The EMP Commission Executive Report of 2004 states, "In general, it would not be an issue for critical infrastructure systems since they have existing protective measures for defense against occasional lightning strikes. The most significant risk is synergistic because the E2 component follows a small fraction of a second after the first component's insult, which has
13746-605: The disastrous failure of Bluegill Prime , and most of the personnel not directly involved in the radioactive cleanup and launch pad rebuild on Johnston Island returned to their home stations to await the resumption of tests. According to the Operation Dominic I report, "The enforced pause allowed DOD to replan the remainder of the Fishbowl series. The Urraca event was canceled to avoid further damage to satellites and three new shots were added." A second launch pad
13904-400: The distance between two adjacent crests or troughs is called the wavelength . Waves of the electromagnetic spectrum vary in size, from very long radio waves longer than a continent to very short gamma rays smaller than atom nuclei. Frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength, according to the equation: where v is the speed of the wave ( c in a vacuum or less in other media), f is
14062-524: The electromagnetic spectrum includes: radio waves , microwaves , infrared , visible light , ultraviolet , X-rays , and gamma rays . Electromagnetic waves are emitted by electrically charged particles undergoing acceleration , and these waves can subsequently interact with other charged particles, exerting force on them. EM waves carry energy, momentum , and angular momentum away from their source particle and can impart those quantities to matter with which they interact. Electromagnetic radiation
14220-447: The electromagnetic vacuum. The behavior of EM radiation and its interaction with matter depends on its frequency, and changes qualitatively as the frequency changes. Lower frequencies have longer wavelengths, and higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths, and are associated with photons of higher energy. There is no fundamental limit known to these wavelengths or energies, at either end of the spectrum, although photons with energies near
14378-539: The electrons are stopped by collisions with air molecules before completing a full spiral around the field lines. This interaction of the negatively charged electrons with the magnetic field radiates a pulse of electromagnetic energy. The pulse typically rises to its peak value in some five nanoseconds. Its magnitude typically decays by half within 200 nanoseconds. (By the IEC definition, this E1 pulse ends 1000 nanoseconds after it begins.) This process occurs simultaneously on about 10 electrons. The simultaneous action of
14536-563: The electrons causes the resulting pulse from each electron to radiate coherently, adding to produce a single large-amplitude, short-duration, radiated pulse. Secondary collisions cause subsequent electrons to lose energy before they reach ground level. The electrons generated by these subsequent collisions have so little energy that they do not contribute significantly to the E1 pulse. These 2 MeV gamma rays typically produce an E1 pulse near ground level at moderately high latitudes that peaks at about 50,000 volts per metre. The ionization process in
14694-495: The energy release of the 1.44 Mt (6.0 PJ) Starfish Prime test, the EMP will be at least 8% as powerful. Since the E1 component of nuclear EMP depends on the prompt gamma-ray output, which was only 0.1% of yield in Starfish Prime but can be 0.5% of yield in low-yield pure nuclear fission weapons, a 10 kt (42 TJ) bomb can easily be 5 * 8% = 40% as powerful as the 1.44 Mt (6.0 PJ) Starfish Prime at producing EMP. The total prompt gamma-ray energy in
14852-498: The explosion. E2 has many similarities to lightning , although lightning-induced E2 may be considerably larger than a nuclear E2. Because of the similarities and the widespread use of lightning protection technology, E2 is generally considered to be the easiest to protect against. According to the United States EMP Commission, the main problem with E2 is that it immediately follows E1, which may have damaged
15010-479: The field strength may be expected to be tens of kilovolts per metre over most of the area receiving the EMP radiation." The text also states that, "... over most of the area affected by the EMP the electric field strength on the ground would exceed 0.5 E max . For yields of less than a few hundred kilotons, this would not necessarily be true because the field strength at the Earth's tangent could be substantially less than 0.5 E max ." ( E max refers to
15168-527: The fields present in the same space due to other causes. Further, as they are vector fields, all magnetic and electric field vectors add together according to vector addition . For example, in optics two or more coherent light waves may interact and by constructive or destructive interference yield a resultant irradiance deviating from the sum of the component irradiances of the individual light waves. The electromagnetic fields of light are not affected by traveling through static electric or magnetic fields in
15326-406: The first stage can pre-ionize the air which becomes conductive and hence rapidly shorts out the Compton currents generated by the fusion stage. Hence, small pure fission weapons with thin cases are far more efficient at causing EMP than most megaton bombs. This analysis, however, only applies to the fast E1 and E2 components of nuclear EMP. The geomagnetic storm -like E3 component of nuclear EMP
15484-484: The first technical reports, "The visible phenomena due to the burst were widespread and quite intense; a very large area of the Pacific was illuminated by the auroral phenomena, from far south of the south magnetic conjugate area ( Tongatapu ) through the burst area to far north of the north conjugate area ( French Frigate Shoals ). ... At twilight after the burst, resonant scattering of light from lithium and other debris
15642-406: The frequency and λ is the wavelength. As waves cross boundaries between different media, their speeds change but their frequencies remain constant. Electromagnetic waves in free space must be solutions of Maxwell's electromagnetic wave equation . Two main classes of solutions are known, namely plane waves and spherical waves. The plane waves may be viewed as the limiting case of spherical waves at
15800-535: The human eye to sense the light. Operation Fishbowl#Kingfish Download coordinates as: Operation Fishbowl was a series of high-altitude nuclear tests in 1962 that were carried out by the United States as a part of the larger Operation Dominic nuclear test program. The Operation Fishbowl nuclear tests were originally to be completed during the first half of 1962 with three tests named Bluegill, Starfish and Urraca . The first test attempt
15958-477: The individual frequency components are represented in terms of their power content, and the phase information is not preserved. Such a representation is called the power spectral density of the random process. Random electromagnetic radiation requiring this kind of analysis is, for example, encountered in the interior of stars, and in certain other very wideband forms of radiation such as the Zero point wave field of
16116-428: The initial plan of Operation Fishbowl, the nuclear tests were to be Bluegill , Starfish and Urraca , in that order. If a test were to fail, the next attempt of the same test would be of the same name plus the word "prime." If Bluegill failed, the next attempt would be Bluegill Prime , and if Bluegill Prime failed, the next attempt would be Bluegill Double Prime , etc. The first planned test of Operation Fishbowl
16274-544: The intense radiation of radium . The radiation from pitchblende was differentiated into alpha rays ( alpha particles ) and beta rays ( beta particles ) by Ernest Rutherford through simple experimentation in 1899, but these proved to be charged particulate types of radiation. However, in 1900 the French scientist Paul Villard discovered a third neutrally charged and especially penetrating type of radiation from radium, and after he described it, Rutherford realized it must be yet
16432-452: The intensity of the debris auroras is greatest in the 60 to 125 miles range. Remote conjugate beta auroras can occur if the detonation is above 25 miles, whereas debris auroras appear only if the detonation altitude is in excess of some 200 miles." Some of the charged particles traveling along the Earth's magnetic field lines cause auroras and other geophysical phenomena in the conjugate areas. Other charged particles are reflected back along
16590-800: The known speed of light. Maxwell therefore suggested that visible light (as well as invisible infrared and ultraviolet rays by inference) all consisted of propagating disturbances (or radiation) in the electromagnetic field. Radio waves were first produced deliberately by Heinrich Hertz in 1887, using electrical circuits calculated to produce oscillations at a much lower frequency than that of visible light, following recipes for producing oscillating charges and currents suggested by Maxwell's equations. Hertz also developed ways to detect these waves, and produced and characterized what were later termed radio waves and microwaves . Wilhelm Röntgen discovered and named X-rays . After experimenting with high voltages applied to an evacuated tube on 8 November 1895, he noticed
16748-416: The large area affected. According to the standard reference text on nuclear weapons effects published by the U.S. Department of Defense, "The peak electric field (and its amplitude) at the Earth's surface from a high-altitude burst will depend upon the explosion yield, the height of the burst, the location of the observer, and the orientation with respect to the geomagnetic field . As a general rule, however,
16906-588: The last atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the United States, as the Limited Test Ban Treaty came into effect shortly thereafter. The United States completed six high-altitude nuclear tests in 1958, but the high-altitude tests of that year raised a number of questions. According to U.S. Government Report ADA955694 on the first successful test of the Fishbowl series, "Previous high-altitude nuclear tests: Teak , Orange , and Yucca , plus
17064-415: The last in the " Soviet Project K nuclear tests ". Although these weapons were much smaller (300 kiloton ) than the Starfish Prime test, they were over a populated, large landmass and at a location where the Earth's magnetic field was greater. The damage caused by the resulting EMP was reportedly much greater than in Starfish Prime. The geomagnetic storm –like E3 pulse from Test 184 induced a current surge in
17222-491: The late 1950s, that high-altitude nuclear tests produce a number of unique geophysical phenomena at the opposite end of the magnetic field line of the Earth's magnetic field . According to the standard reference book on nuclear weapon effects by the United States Department of Defense , "For the high-altitude tests conducted in 1958 and 1962 in the vicinity of Johnston Island, the charged particles entered
17380-529: The launch of the Thor missile carrying the nuclear warhead. Most of these smaller instrumentation rockets were launched just after the time of the launch of the main Thor missile carrying the warhead. In addition, a large number of rocket-borne instruments were launched from a firing area at Barking Sands , Kauai , in the Hawaiian Islands. A very large number of United States military ships and aircraft were operating in support of Starfish Prime in
17538-519: The limits to which the oscilloscopes were set. The Yucca EMP was initially positive-going, whereas low-altitude bursts were negative-going pulses. Also, the polarization of the Yucca EMP signal was horizontal, whereas low-altitude nuclear EMP was vertically polarized. In spite of these many differences, the unique EMP results were dismissed as a possible wave propagation anomaly. The high-altitude nuclear tests of 1962, as discussed below, confirmed
17696-419: The maximum electric field strength in the affected area.) In other words, the electric field strength in the entire area that is affected by the EMP will be fairly uniform for weapons with a large gamma-ray output. For smaller weapons, the electric field may fall at a faster rate as distance increases. Electromagnetic radiation In physics , electromagnetic radiation ( J.Z.8 ) consists of waves of
17854-447: The media determines the degree of refraction, and is summarized by Snell's law . Light of composite wavelengths (natural sunlight) disperses into a visible spectrum passing through a prism, because of the wavelength-dependent refractive index of the prism material ( dispersion ); that is, each component wave within the composite light is bent a different amount. EM radiation exhibits both wave properties and particle properties at
18012-480: The mid- stratosphere causes this region to become an electrical conductor, a process that blocks the production of further electromagnetic signals and causes the field strength to saturate at about 50,000 volts per metre. The strength of the E1 pulse depends upon the number and intensity of the gamma rays and upon the rapidity of the gamma-ray burst. Strength is also somewhat dependent upon altitude. There are reports of "super-EMP" nuclear weapons that are able to exceed
18170-406: The missile with its warhead to be destroyed. No nuclear detonation occurred and no data was obtained, but subsequent investigation found that the Thor was actually following the proper flight trajectory. The second planned test of Operation Fishbowl was on June 19, 1962. The launch of a Thor missile with a nuclear warhead occurred just before midnight from Johnston Island. The Thor missile flew
18328-439: The most important of which is the altitude of the detonation. The term "electromagnetic pulse" generally excludes optical (infrared, visible, ultraviolet) and ionizing (such as X-ray and gamma radiation) ranges. In military terminology, a nuclear warhead detonated tens to hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface is known as a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) device. Effects of a HEMP device depend on factors including
18486-407: The nearby violet light. Ritter's experiments were an early precursor to what would become photography. Ritter noted that the ultraviolet rays (which at first were called "chemical rays") were capable of causing chemical reactions. In 1862–64 James Clerk Maxwell developed equations for the electromagnetic field which suggested that waves in the field would travel with a speed that was very close to
18644-402: The ocean in the vicinity of the island. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Underwater Demolition Team swimmers recovered approximately 250 pieces of the missile assembly during the next two weeks. Some of the debris was contaminated with plutonium . Nonessential personnel had been evacuated from Johnston Island during the test. On July 9, 1962, at 09:00:09 Coordinated Universal Time , which
18802-626: The oscillations of the two fields are on average perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of energy and wave propagation, forming a transverse wave . Electromagnetic radiation is commonly referred to as "light", EM, EMR, or electromagnetic waves. The position of an electromagnetic wave within the electromagnetic spectrum can be characterized by either its frequency of oscillation or its wavelength. Electromagnetic waves of different frequency are called by different names since they have different sources and effects on matter. In order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength,
18960-544: The other Fishbowl tests, a number of small rockets with various scientific instrumentation were launched from Johnson Island to monitor the effects of the high-altitude explosion. In the case of the Kingfish test, 29 rockets were launched from Johnston Island in addition to the Thor rocket carrying the nuclear warhead. According to the official report, at the time of the Kingfish detonation, "Johnston Island observers saw
19118-401: The particle of light was given the name photon , to correspond with other particles being described around this time, such as the electron and proton . A photon has an energy, E , proportional to its frequency, f , by where h is the Planck constant , λ {\displaystyle \lambda } is the wavelength and c is the speed of light . This is sometimes known as
19276-417: The physical mechanisms behind the electromagnetic pulses. The EMP damage of the Starfish Prime test was quickly repaired due, in part, to the fact that the EMP over Hawaii was relatively weak compared to what could be produced with a more intense pulse, and in part due to the relative ruggedness (compared to today) of Hawaii's electrical and electronic infrastructure in 1962. The relatively small magnitude of
19434-470: The red part of the spectrum, through an increase in the temperature recorded with a thermometer . These "calorific rays" were later termed infrared. In 1801, German physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter discovered ultraviolet in an experiment similar to Herschel's, using sunlight and a glass prism. Ritter noted that invisible rays near the violet edge of a solar spectrum dispersed by a triangular prism darkened silver chloride preparations more quickly than did
19592-412: The same points in space (see illustrations). In the far-field EM radiation which is described by the two source-free Maxwell curl operator equations, a time-change in one type of field is proportional to the curl of the other. These derivatives require that the E and B fields in EMR are in-phase (see mathematics section below). An important aspect of light's nature is its frequency . The frequency of
19750-464: The same time (see wave-particle duality ). Both wave and particle characteristics have been confirmed in many experiments. Wave characteristics are more apparent when EM radiation is measured over relatively large timescales and over large distances while particle characteristics are more evident when measuring small timescales and distances. For example, when electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by matter, particle-like properties will be more obvious when
19908-447: The satellite damage caused by the Starfish Prime artificial radiation belts as well as other historical nuclear events that caused artificial radiation belts and their effects on many satellites that were then in orbit. The same report also projects the effects of one or more present-day high altitude nuclear explosions upon the formation of artificial radiation belts and the probable resulting effects on satellites that were in orbit as of
20066-464: The size of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. Physicists have testified at United States Congressional hearings that weapons with yields of 10 kt (42 TJ) or less can produce a large EMP. The EMP at a fixed distance from an explosion increases at most as the square root of the yield (see the illustration to the right). This means that although a 10 kt (42 TJ) weapon has only 0.7% of
20224-420: The source, such as inside a transformer . The near field has strong effects its source, with any energy withdrawn by a receiver causing increased load (decreased electrical reactance ) on the source. The near field does not propagate freely into space, carrying energy away without a distance limit, but rather oscillates, returning its energy to the transmitter if it is not absorbed by a receiver. By contrast,
20382-472: The source, the power density of EM radiation from an isotropic source decreases with the inverse square of the distance from the source; this is called the inverse-square law . This is in contrast to dipole parts of the EM field, the near field, which varies in intensity according to an inverse cube power law, and thus does not transport a conserved amount of energy over distances but instead fades with distance, with its energy (as noted) rapidly returning to
20540-473: The southwest of Johnston Island so that the detonations would be farther from Hawaii. Urraca was to be a test of about 1 megaton yield at very high altitude (above 1000 km). The proposed Urraca test was always controversial, especially after the damage caused to satellites by the Starfish Prime detonation, as described below. Urraca was finally canceled, and an extensive re-evaluation of
20698-407: The spectrum. EM radiation with a wavelength between approximately 400 nm and 700 nm is directly detected by the human eye and perceived as visible light. Other wavelengths, especially nearby infrared (longer than 700 nm) and ultraviolet (shorter than 400 nm) are also sometimes referred to as light. As frequency increases into the visible range, photons have enough energy to change
20856-549: The speed in a medium to speed in a vacuum. Electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths other than those of visible light were discovered in the early 19th century. The discovery of infrared radiation is ascribed to astronomer William Herschel , who published his results in 1800 before the Royal Society of London . Herschel used a glass prism to refract light from the Sun and detected invisible rays that caused heating beyond
21014-410: The term associated with the changing static electric field of the particle and the magnetic term that results from the particle's uniform velocity are both associated with the near field, and do not comprise electromagnetic radiation. Electric and magnetic fields obey the properties of superposition . Thus, a field due to any particular particle or time-varying electric or magnetic field contributes to
21172-545: The tests. A 2010 technical report written for Oak Ridge National Laboratory stated that "Power line insulators were damaged, resulting in a short circuit on the line and some lines detaching from the poles and falling to the ground". Nuclear EMP is a complex multi-pulse, usually described in terms of three components, as defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The three components of nuclear EMP, as defined by
21330-536: The three ARGUS shots were poorly instrumented and hastily executed. Despite thorough studies of the meager data, present models of these bursts are sketchy and tentative. These models are too uncertain to permit extrapolation to other altitudes and yields with any confidence. Thus there is a strong need, not only for better instrumentation, but for further tests covering a range of altitudes and yields." There were three phenomena in particular that required further investigation: The Fishbowl tests were monitored by
21488-475: The transmitter or absorbed by a nearby receiver (such as a transformer secondary coil). In the Liénard–Wiechert potential formulation of the electric and magnetic fields due to motion of a single particle (according to Maxwell's equations), the terms associated with acceleration of the particle are those that are responsible for the part of the field that is regarded as electromagnetic radiation. By contrast,
21646-427: The transmitter to affect them. This causes them to be independent in the sense that their existence and their energy, after they have left the transmitter, is completely independent of both transmitter and receiver. Due to conservation of energy , the amount of power passing through any spherical surface drawn around the source is the same. Because such a surface has an area proportional to the square of its distance from
21804-530: The triggering of surge arresters on an airplane with a trailing-wire antenna during Starfish, Checkmate, and Bluegill; and the Oahu streetlight incident." (The "Oahu streetlight incident" refers to the 300 streetlights in Honolulu extinguished by the Starfish Prime detonation.) The final test of Operation Fishbowl was detonated at 2130 (9:30 p.m. local Johnston Island time) on November 3, 1962 (the time and date
21962-569: The unique results of the Yucca high-altitude test and increased the awareness of high-altitude nuclear EMP beyond the original group of defense scientists. The larger scientific community became aware of the significance of the EMP problem after a three-article series on nuclear EMP was published in 1981 by William J. Broad in Science . In July 1962, the US carried out the Starfish Prime test, exploding
22120-415: The very narrow range of 1.4 to 1.45 megatons (6.0 PJ). The Thor missile carrying the Starfish Prime warhead actually reached an apogee (maximum height) of about 1100 km (just over 680 miles), and the warhead was detonated on its downward trajectory when it had fallen to the programmed altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi). The nuclear warhead detonated at 13 minutes and 41 seconds after liftoff of
22278-470: The wave theory, however, Einstein's ideas were met initially with great skepticism among established physicists. Eventually Einstein's explanation was accepted as new particle-like behavior of light was observed, such as the Compton effect . As a photon is absorbed by an atom , it excites the atom, elevating an electron to a higher energy level (one that is on average farther from the nucleus). When an electron in an excited molecule or atom descends to
22436-486: The year 2010. On July 25, 1962, a second attempt was made to launch the Bluegill device, but ended in disaster when the Thor suffered a stuck valve preventing the flow of LOX to the combustion chamber. The engine lost thrust and unburned RP-1 spilled down into the hot thrust chamber, igniting and starting a fire around the base of the missile. With the Thor engulfed in flames, the Range Safety Officer sent
22594-422: Was an experimental anomaly not explained by the wave theory: the photoelectric effect , in which light striking a metal surface ejected electrons from the surface, causing an electric current to flow across an applied voltage . Experimental measurements demonstrated that the energy of individual ejected electrons was proportional to the frequency , rather than the intensity , of the light. Furthermore, below
22752-451: Was constructed during the operations pause so that Operation Fishbowl could continue in the event of another serious incident. After a pause of nearly three months, Operation Fishbowl was ready to continue, beginning with another attempt at the Bluegill test. Eighty-two days after the failure of Bluegill Prime , about 30 minutes before midnight on the night of October 15, 1962, local Johnston Island time (October 16 UTC ), another attempt
22910-432: Was delayed until June. Planning for Operation Fishbowl, as well as many other nuclear tests in the region, began rapidly in response to the sudden Soviet announcement on August 30, 1961, that they were ending a three-year moratorium on nuclear testing. The rapid planning of very complex operations necessitated many changes as the project progressed. All of the tests were to be launched on missiles from Johnston Island in
23068-408: Was incapacitated." There had been concern that eyeburn problems might occur during the earlier Starfish Prime test, since the countdown was rebroadcast by radio stations in Hawaii, and many civilians would be watching the thermonuclear detonation as it occurred, but no such problems in Hawaii were reported. The Kingfish detonation occurred at 0210 (Johnston Island time) on November 1, 1962, and
23226-487: Was made at the Bluegill test. The Thor missile malfunctioned and began tumbling out of control about 85 seconds after launch, and the range safety officer ordered the destruction of the missile and its nuclear warhead about 95 seconds after launch. On October 19, 1962, at about 90 minutes before midnight (local Johnston Island time), an XM-33 Strypi rocket launched a low-yield nuclear warhead which detonated successfully at an altitude of 147 kilometres (91 mi). It
23384-455: Was motivated by fears that the flash from the nighttime high-altitude detonations might blind civilians who were living on nearby islands. Johnston Island was a remote location, more distant from populated areas than other potential test locations. To protect residents of the Hawaiian Islands from flash blindness or permanent retinal injury from the bright nuclear flash, the nuclear missiles of Operation Fishbowl were launched generally toward
23542-483: Was nine seconds after 10 p.m. on July 8, Johnston Island local time, the Starfish Prime test was successfully detonated at an altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi). The coordinates of the detonation were 16 degrees, 28 minutes North latitude, 169 degrees, 38 minutes West longitude (30 km, or about 18 mi, southwest of Johnston Island). The actual weapon yield was very close to the design yield, which has been described by various sources at different values in
23700-556: Was observed and after about 10 seconds a great white ball appeared to rise slowly out of the sea and was visible for about 9 minutes." After most of the electromagnetic pulse measurements on Starfish Prime had failed because the EMP was so much larger than expected, extra care was taken to obtain accurate EMP measurements on the Bluegill Triple Prime and Kingfish tests. The EMP mechanism that had been hypothesized before Operation Fishbowl had been conclusively disproven by
23858-552: Was observed at Johnston and French Frigate Shoals for many days confirming the longtime presence of debris in the atmosphere. An interesting side effect was that the Royal New Zealand Air Force was aided in anti-submarine maneuvers by the light from the bomb." The Starfish Prime radiation belt persisted at high altitude for many months and damaged the United States satellites Traac , Transit 4B , Injun I and Telstar I , as well as
24016-444: Was officially recorded as 0730 UTC , November 4, 1962). It was launched on a Nike-Hercules missile, and detonated at a lower altitude than the other Fishbowl tests. Although it was officially one of the Operation Fishbowl tests, it is sometimes not listed among high-altitude nuclear tests because of its lower detonation altitude. The nuclear yield was reported in most official documents only as being less than 20 kilotons. One report by
24174-460: Was on June 2, 1962, when a nuclear warhead was launched from Johnston Island on a Thor missile just after midnight. Although the Thor missile appeared to be on a normal trajectory, the radar tracking system lost track of the missile. Because of the large number of ships and aircraft in the area, there was no way to predict if the missile was on a safe trajectory, so the range safety officers ordered
24332-402: Was protected by fuses and by gas-filled overvoltage protectors. The EMP from the 22 October (K-3) nuclear test (also known as Test 184) blew all of the fuses and destroyed all of the overvoltage protectors in all of the sub-lines. Published reports, including a 1998 IEEE article, have stated that there were significant problems with ceramic insulators on overhead electrical power lines during
24490-461: Was reported that the yield and burst altitude were very close to those desired, but according to most official documents the exact nuclear yield remains classified. It is reported in the open literature as simply being less than 20 kilotons. One report by the U.S. federal government, however, reported the Checkmate test yield as 10 kilotons. It was reported that, "Observers on Johnston Island saw
24648-463: Was shielded because Enrico Fermi expected the electromagnetic pulse. The official technical history for that first nuclear test states, "All signal lines were completely shielded, in many cases doubly shielded. In spite of this many records were lost because of spurious pickup at the time of the explosion that paralyzed the recording equipment." During British nuclear testing in 1952–53, instrumentation failures were attributed to " radioflash ", which
24806-421: Was the fourth successful detonation of the Fishbowl series. It was officially reported only as being a submegaton explosion (meaning in the range of more than 200 kilotons, but less than a megaton), but most independent observers believe that it used the same 400 kiloton warhead as the Bluegill Triple Prime test, although one report by the U.S. federal government reported the test yield as 200 kilotons. As with
24964-455: Was their term for EMP. The first openly reported observation of the unique aspects of high-altitude nuclear EMP occurred during the helium balloon -lofted Yucca nuclear test of the Hardtack I series on 28 April 1958. In that test, the electric field measurements from the 1.7 kiloton weapon exceeded the range to which the test instruments were adjusted and was estimated to be about five times
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